Adrienne von Speyr was another suffering soul: a difficult birth, a childhood where her mother scolded her every day, and an adult life marked by long periods of poor health.At the same time, she was a mystic of the first order, experiencing not only visions and locutions, but also precognition and out-of-the-body viewing of remote locations.
First Glance at Adrienne von Speyr is a collection of materials assembled by her mentor, Hans Urs von Balthasar, with the intent of introducing her. In the first part, he describes her life and works, of which the most famous are the commentaries on Scripture dictated while in a state of meditation. The second part is a collection of Adrienne von Speyr’s writings about herself. The third and final part is an anthology of her prayers.
The prayers are very beautiful. What strikes me about von Speyr is her astonishing empathy for the feelings of others.
Hans Urs von Balthasar. First Glance at Adrienne von Speyr. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1981. Paperback. 249 pages. ISBN 9780898700039. $14.95.
